Online records from the Missouri Ethics Commission show Spence gave $500,000 to his campaign this past Saturday just before the close of the quarterly campaign finance reporting period. Spence now has given his campaign $2.75 million.

The donation boosted Spence’s large contributions during the past three months to nearly $800,000. Large contributions are those of at least $5,000.

Spence is the former president and CEO of Alpha Packaging in St. Louis. He is competing in the Republican primary on Aug. 7 to challenge Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon’s re-election bid.